


To Find a Thief

by InediblePeriwinkle



Series: The Commander and The Thief [1]
Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, Toppat!Charles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27760900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InediblePeriwinkle/pseuds/InediblePeriwinkle
Summary: The Commander, Charles Calvin, Head of Aviation in the Toppat Clan, gets a call that a government agent has infiltrated the airship. But he's not concerned, his intel tells him it's just a thief Galeforce has blackmailed into doing his work for him...maybe the guy would be up to joining them? Might as well go find out.
Relationships: Charles Calvin/Henry Stickmin
Series: The Commander and The Thief [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030776
Comments: 23
Kudos: 137





	To Find a Thief

**Author's Note:**

> So everydayis-halloween requested this scenario from Tumblr and it ended up being too long for my drabbles. I've placed it here, instead, as the first part of a series. I hope you enjoy it!

Nobody was really taking this guy seriously, and honestly? Charles could totally relate. 

I mean, Reginald and Right hadn’t even realized he existed until the guy got horribly lost within the airship division, the guy went undercover for probably as long as the government had been on the horizon and that meant he was dangerous. 

If it were up to him? He’d keep his distance until he knew what the guy was about. Just seal the exits and get away from the government aircrafts. 

But everyone was too busy as usual to listen to the Head of Aviation, so Charles gave up and went looking for the guy also. 

The Commander, as he was professionally known, swept through the massive hangars that housed those under his jurisdiction and the aircrafts he claimed. _His_ underlings knew not to engage the guy if they found him, just contact The Commander, and he’d take care of it. 

His long, scarlet cape barely brushed the stairs as he jogged upwards, a stark contrast to his grey, militant-reminiscent suit. 

Oh yeah, he’d take care of it. He knew exactly what they were dealing with, after all, which is why he wanted to talk to the guy first. If Reginald found him, he’d either get immediately shot or recruited and it was probably a 60-40 chance, there. Generously. If Right found him, he’d engage immediately without scoping the thief out first. 

Which was dumb. If Galeforce himself had been the one to recruit the guy, he had to be special. Charles knew for absolute sure and certain, because that’s how he rocketed through the ranks as an officer. 

“Commander?” His headset crackled with the voice of one of his pilots, “East wing, hallway between the refectory and chutes. I think he’s cornered.” 

“Oh yeah?” Charles turned on a booted heel, immediately headed to that area. “Alright. Don’t, uh...don’t bother him, don’t engage, I’m nearby and I’ll talk to him.” 

“Want me to tell the Chief?”

“Nope,” Charles made that decision immediately. “Not until I get there.” 

“Yessir.” 

Okay, so the guy was close. Figured, the hangars were the easiest place to escape the airship, after all, now he had to make sure he found the guy _first_. Good thing one of his spotted him. 

Oh man. The government hadn’t gotten this close since Charles was on their side. This guy was something special. A thief, the intel he got from the government leaks told him, named Henry. 

Going around blackmailing thieves was a wild move, but Charles knew Galeforce well enough to know that was just up his alley. He always did some out-of-the-blue schemes. It was where Charles had learned it from. 

“Hey!” He greeted his pilot, who wore a similar suit and a scarlet band around her hat. “Where’d he go?” 

She pointed into the refectory, the one closed for renovation, and Charles hopped through one of the windows in the hallway to let himself in past the boarded door. 

His boots hit the ground with a cloud of white dust. He saw the thief immediately, dressed in black and trying to scale one of the scaffoldings set up to get into the vents. 

They stared at each other, amid drying paint and sawn wood and drywall powder. Neither made a move, waiting for what the other was going to do. 

He was handsome. Charles pushed up the brim of his hat in order to get a better look, fascinated. 

He was lithe, graceful, but his form-fitting clothing showed compact muscle and strength. His face was interestingly...forgettable. But his eyes were dark, crafty, watching Charles with immediate distrust. 

He was a good-looking guy. The Head of Aviation felt himself grin, crookedly, unable to look away. 

Henry was staring as well, leaning to the side, and he slipped from the scaffolding. 

Charles was running but Henry caught himself, clumsily dangling from one of the bars like a startled bat. 

“Oh, hey, be careful,” He called up to him as Henry irritably swung back up onto the bar. “I don’t know how stable everything is, you know?” 

The thief looked back at him, and he looked more curious than anything else, and that boded well. Charles’ heart was pounding. 

“This was all kind of my fault,” He gestured to the renovations, “Man, I still hear about this daily. I uh...sort of ran into the side. Evasive maneuvers. Good news is, it sort of worked. Evaded everything except for the refectory, anyway.” 

Henry raised an eyebrow at him, but there was an upward tug to his lips that was entirely encouraging. 

“So yeah, hi,” He said, smiling up at the guy. “I’m The Commander. But you can call me Charles.” 

Henry narrowed his eyes. 

“It’s just me,” He reassured the guy, “I just wanted to talk. I know...yeah, you came over here from the government’s side of things, yeah? Probably getting some intel. Sounds about right.” 

The guy didn’t move and Charles pressed his luck. 

“I used to run with those guys, you know?” Charles scratched his cheek, “What they’ve got on you has got to be pretty bad, huh?” 

Henry looked back up towards the vents. 

“Hey,” He reached for the lower bars himself, resting his hands on them as he looked up at the dark-eyed criminal, “It’s Henry, right?” 

He got a sharp look for that.

“I still got ins with the government,” The Commander fumbled, tapping his fingers against scaffolding. “You’re the guy who took the Diamond last fall, right?” 

He nodded that time, the first time he’d actually answered anything Charles had said. He leaned over the barrier, looking down at the pilot, mildly interested. 

“Yeah, we’ve uh...we’ve been looking for you, too,” Charles braced his boot against the main bar and hoisted himself up. “Nothing bad, though. Don’t get me wrong here.” 

Henry wasn’t retreating, which was...unexpected, but great. Charles clambered up until he was within an arm’s distance and no closer. He leaned back, looking up into Henry’s face, having to tilt back his head father to see past the hat. 

The thief’s head was tilted and he looked amused. 

“So yeah, sounds like you’re a dangerous guy.” Charles grinned all the wider when he saw Henry shake his head at him. “Not many people could pull that off.” 

The man’s eyes softened their look, and Henry lazily leaned against the railing, wrists dangling over. 

“So, uh...you thought about coming in with us?” 

Charles’ cape fluttered as he swung back, holding onto the scaffolding with one hand and regarding Henry with scrutiny. “You’d fit right in. And you know, whatever they’ve got on you?” 

Charles swung in, then, taking another step up, until they were nearly face-to-face. “I’ll help you with that.” 

A real smile, that time, from the thief. Henry’s eyes flit over his face, their hands resting on the same barrier. 

Charles stood on his toes, looking up at him, giving him time to think. 

His eyes were brown. 

Not black, like he originally thought. Up close, even in the artificial lighting, he could see warm tones of forest brown and amber. He watched Charles with the same amount of scrutiny, curious but unafraid, with a soft red glow illuminating a sharp face that seemed more dashing the longer he looked- 

Charles’ brows furrowed. Reddish light. 

He looked to the side, eyes widening, and Henry grabbed his chin. 

The thief kissed him, on the lips, a knife-sharp smile all he could see as Henry shoved him off the scaffolding. 

Charles caught himself, of course he did, nearly dislocating his arm and knocking out his teeth from the clumsiness of it. 

His brain was scrambling to come back online, delight and embarrassment and confusion whirling around as he fumbled for his headset. 

“He’s got the ruby, Chief,” The Commander reported, staring, dazed, up at the vents Henry had swung himself into after all. “Might have other things.” 

Why the hell did he stick around for so long if he had the ruby? Oh god, he was double-crossing the government _and_ pissing off the Toppats, who the fuck did the guy think he was? 

Charles dropped safely to the ground, a stupid sort of grin spread over his face. He watched the vents, as if he’d get a glimpse of him, a pure-blooded thief off to run another heist. 

It had been a long time since Charles had anything really _fun_ to do. Finding an ace thief was something he absolutely could get behind.


End file.
